Now he tells us. Bob Lutz, who helped spearhead the development of the Chevrolet Volt at General Motors, told UK's Autocar that the Volt's extended-range plug-in powertrain would've been better developed for full-size SUV than a smaller-sized car because of the greater opportunity to cut fuel use compared to gas-guzzling models like the Cadillac Escalade.

General Motors says its next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models will offer shoppers improved interior differentiation. Car and Driver recently caught up with Chris Hilts, GM's creative manager of interior design, who said that the cabins will all feature unique instrument panels, consoles, center stacks and switchgear moving forward. Apparently GM is now aware that consumers may be bothered by the fact that today's $85,000 Escalade has effectively the sa

Known for unmitigated excess to some, the Cadillac Escalade embodies over-the-top transportation for oil barons and high-rolling hip-hop stars. TheDetroitBureau.com quotes an unnamed senior Cadillac official as saying, "We were finding that for everyone turned on by that image there were four (potential luxury buyers) who were [turned off]." Add in national gas prices flirting with $5 a gallon, and the Escalade seemed destined to join the flamboyant fins of the 1959 Eldorado.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so Cadillac is rolling some new anti-theft technology into it's flagship Escalade. While the 'Sclade is pretty long-in-the-tooth these days, it's still one of the most stolen vehicles extant.

If you own a Cadillac Escalade, you better keep one eye on it at all times. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), the Escalade is still the apple of a car thief's eye. The large luxury SUV is six times more likely to be plucked away by thieves than average. If you happen to have the truck-like EXT Escalade, you're in even worse shape since 14 out of every 1,000 vehicles insured wind up with a theft claim.